Tinkerbell's Travels

With my mother on board, we drove out to Ft. Washington, Maryland to see an old friend from our days at Ft. Belvoir.

First: a little bit of history about Ft Washington, which is located about 17 miles from Washington, DC. I used to commute from Southern Maryland through Ft. Washington when I was a young, eager professional fresh out of college.

Ft. Washington played a big role in the defense of Washington, DC during the War of 1812. It was the only fort defending our young nation’s capital at the time. It was built to stop enemy advancements toward the capital via the Potomac River.

Unfortunately, Ft. Washington, which was constructed only of mud and sticks, did not hold up well to British canon fire. Three days after the White House was set ablaze, British Admiral Gordon’s troop easily conquered Ft. Washington as the men guarding the fort had only five guns amongst them, took a vote, and decided a retreat was in order.

Today, Ft. Washington is home to the National Harbor, a resort on the river teeming with casinos, restaurants, and “Instagram-worthy views” (I didn’t make that up; the Harbor actually markets itself as “Instagram-worthy”). More importantly, Ft. Washington is also home to Cooperville, which is how I refer to the home of my good friend Willie Cooper.

It had been at least 15 years since we saw Mr. Cooper.

Willie retired from the Air Force at Ft. Belvoir. During his time (and our time) there, he was an ace photographer and videographer who played a big role in a number of my work projects. This explains why I don’t have any photos of Willie in front of the camera from those days – like most photographers, he aimed to stay behind the camera.

Willie and I stayed in touch during the 20 years since we worked together. These days, we enjoy phone talks while I’m on my Ziggy walks in Tucson and Willie is working in his yard or around his home at Cooperville.

This past year has been especially difficult for my friend. His beloved wife Stephanie passed away on the month of their 50th wedding anniversary.

Upon hearing the sad news about Stephanie’s passing, Jay and I knew we wanted to visit Willie this summer. We planned our trip so we would see him and get to meet his granddaughter, Lyanna.

Lyanna is Willie’s 14-year-old granddaughter. She is the apple of her Poppy’s eye. She affectionately calls Willie “Poppy” and he calls her “Yanna.” She’s a ray of sunshine. She lights up a room – and Willie’s life – as soon as she enters the picture.

We drove Tinkerbell, Austin, Ziggy, and Frankie to Cooperville, which sits in a quiet Ft. Washington neighborhood. It didn’t take long for the neighbors to notice Tinkerbell and her Pixie dust. They came out of their houses to watch Willie and Yanna board the magical mystery bus. So much happyness: everyone smiled and waved 🙂

Captain Billy’s was started by Billy Robertson, a young crab-catcher who sold his first crabs back in the days of mail boats, locomotives, and a new invention (at least to Southern Maryland at the time): electricity!

We’re happy Billy opened his crab house because there were two crab-happy people on the Tinkerbell Express. Yanna loves Maryland blue crabs as much as I do – butt, being a young teenager, she can eat about twice as many as I can!

We gorged on crabs while Willie enjoyed his dinner of scallops. I don’t know how a man from Maryland doesn’t eat crabs! Oh, wait, Willie’s from Georgia. Okay….that explains it 😉

After our seafood feast, we stopped for a quick pic in front of Tinkerbell and then drove the hour north back to Cooperville.

What a special day it was! Seeing Willie after so many years …

Willie’s expressive eyes told me he’s seen a lot of life. They also told me he was beyond happy to see us. Knowing what a tough year he had been through, it was wonderful to see his eyes sparkle.

They sparkled when he kicked back, drank a cold beer, and laughed during his ride to Cap’n Billy’s in a 45-foot-bus named Tinkerbell.

They sparkled when he shared hilarious stories of goofy road trips with Stephanie during their early Air Force days.

And they sparkled as bright as his smile when he looked with love at his precious Yanna.

I know Stephanie and my mother were having a grand time too, as they were no doubt with us on our ride in Tinkerbell and during our crab-cracking feast on the waterfront deck of Cap’n Billy’s!

Getting to see Willie and meet Yanna will be one of the highlights of our trip. Thank you, Willie, for being a friend through so many years and for sharing Yanna with us for a delightful afternoon!